Surprising the Master
by mybuddyhollylook
Summary: Watson uses his deduction skills to uncover the mystery of January the sixth.


_**Author's Note:**_ _My first Sherlock Holmes fan fiction that I wrote on my birthday (1-2). Please keep in mind that any mistakes that were made in this story are entirely my fault and I would greatly appreciate it if you would be so kind to write me a review once you have finished reading and tell me if you found any of my mistakes. Please do enjoy! (:_

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"Watson, do tell me, what is your knowledge of the sixth of January?"

It was in mid afternoon on the fifth of January when my friend asked me this. We were sitting together at Baker Street enjoying the peaceful silence. Holmes was sitting, curled up in his seat, smoking away at his pipe while I sat in my spot, dozing off.

I was surprised by the sudden question and even more surprised by the oddness of the question.

"I'm afraid my knowledge of the date is limited to the obvious; that it comes before the seventh of January and comes after the fifth. Pray do tell me why you're asking, Holmes."

Holmes however did not enlighten me upon it though, instead he returned to his former state of silence and being lost in thought. This time the silence was not as light or as peaceful as it had been before. It was now a heavy silence filled with what almost seemed like disappointment.

Minutes passed along slowly and quick glance at my watch told that it was only a quarter past four. I needed to escape from the tense atmosphere that was surrounding me in this room. Fortunately the weather was, for once, warm enough to take a leave from Baker Street and have a stroll through the streets.

I tried to clear my mind of everything as I walked along the streets of London, but I could not help but to think over Holmes's question from earlier. There was something buried in between the lines of it that would not allow me to push it to the very back of my mind.

It is known fact that my deduction skills are not the greatest and when compared to Holmes's they are practically nonexistent. There were times though when they could be fairly decent and I would learn a thing or two from deducing.

It was then, as I continued to walk aimlessly around, that I wanted to give my abilities a try and see if I could deduce the secret behind the sixth day of January.

From the slight disappointment my friend showed when I told him that I did not know anything about the day proved that it might possibly hold a sort of sentimental value over my friend. Why that is remains to be a mystery for the time being…

It took me all of four minutes for the answer to pop out to me like a splash of cold water.

By simply applying my friend's method of eliminating the improbable and whatever being left, no matter how impossible it may seem, must be the truth. I have come up with a conclusion that is sure to be right.

I was so sure that the conclusion I had reached, though it was certainly surprising, was the truth that I would have sworn on my very own life.

Once it was all clear as day to me I passed the rest of the afternoon by dinning at my club.

When finally arriving back at Baker Street 221B it was late evening and my friend was still sitting in his chair but now seemed to be in a light sleep. I did not wish to take a chance at awakening him so I quietly made my way up the stairs and into my bedroom.

It did not take long at all for me to fall asleep once I had laid down and gotten comfortable. The next morning I was greeted by the sight of my friend drinking a cup of tea thoughtfully. I said a good morning to him and Holmes only nodded his head in my direction.

I sat down at the table and began to eat the breakfast that had been prepared by Mrs. Hudson. Through breakfast I took notice that Holmes's mood was steadily decreasing as each minute passed by.

Nearly half way through the meal Holmes shot up from his chair and made his way in the direction of his room.

"Holmes," I called out before he had left the room completely.

"Yes Watson?"

"Happy Birthday old chap."

I did not need to see the face of my friend to know that I had surprised him. His body language gave it all away. For once my dearest friend had let down his usual cold facade. It was pleasing to know that I had surprised the master of deduction.

I could tell by just looking at Holmes that he was both pleasantly surprised and happy that I had figured out the mystery of January sixth.

"_Thank you, my dear Watson."_

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**Author's Note:**_I hadn't realize just how hard it would be to write a Sherlock Holmes story... But despite some of the weaker moments of the story I do hope you enjoyed it and I would love it if you sent me a review telling me your opinion on the story. (_:

**Thanks for reading! **


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